h
the clouds, and I could dimly discern the outline
of the quaint gabled front of the house, with its
mullioned windows, and masses of clinging ivy.
Dismounting at the old stone porch, I seized the
knocker and beat a mighty tattoo. There was no
reply. Even the light had disappeared from the
window almost simultaneously with the approach of
our carriage wheels, and though I hammered for
fully five minutes I failed to obtain the slightest
response to my knocks. I was on the point of
turning away in despair and driving back in the gig
to Holdergate, when a sound of footsteps was heard
within, together with an unbolting and unbarring,
the door was opened about six inches on the chain,
and a hard-featured woman peeped cautiously out
into the darkness.

"I at once proclaimed my identity and my errand,
but, by the light of the candle which she held in
her hand, she looked me up and down with a glance
of keen distrust and evident disfavor. 'How am I to
know it is as you say?' she replied guardedly, and
without making any move to grant me admittance.

"'Then fetch your master,' I exclaimed with some
heat, thrusting my card into her hand. 'He should
know my name at any rate, though he seems to have
trained you in strange notions of hospitality to
keep a guest standing on the doorstep on a bitter
evening in December.'

"Grumbling under her breath she went away, and I
was half inclined to follow her example and quit
this very unpromising spot, when a quick step
resounded in the hall, the door was flung open
wide, and I was dragged forcibly into the house by
my friend Jack, who hailed me with such unfeigned
delight and enthusiasm that there could be little
doubt of the genuineness of his welcome.

"'You've sprung upon us at a queer time, as it
happens, old man, but if you don't mind taking
pot-luck we'll spend a ripping night together,' he
cried, hauling me into the dining-room, where a
pretty fairy of a girl sprang up to greet us. 'This
is my sister Bessie, and I've talked about you so
often that she'll give you as big a welcome as I